For most of us, the words ‘An Eye for an Eye’ immediately ring the bell for Hammurabi's code ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’ or the famous quote by Gandhi ‘An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.’  But, in today’s world when everything old is changing drastically, it’s time we change our notion towards the old ‘an eye for an eye’ and see it in a new light and change it to ‘An eye for an eye is a gift of vision to someone to see the beautiful world.’

Let us shed more light on the same… 

In India, 25th August of every year marks the beginning of ‘The National Eye Donation Fortnight’ which extends up to 8th September. It is a campaign that strives to create mass public awareness about the importance of eye donation and to motivate people to pledge their eyes for donation after death.

According to the national survey, in India, approximately 68 lakh people suffer from corneal blindness in at least one eye (with about 10 lakh people with blindness in both their eyes). In most of these cases, the blindness can be corrected through 'Eye Donation'. When an individual donates eyes after their death, a corneal blind person can see again through a surgical procedure known as corneal transplantation, which involves replacement of the damaged cornea by a healthy cornea from the eye donor. 

Shared below are some ‘must know facts about eye donation’:

  • Eye donation is pledging to donate eyes after death.
  • Anyone can donate their eyes irrespective of age, sex and blood group, including those with cataracts, diabetes, asthma, or hypertension. 
  • A person suffering with communicable diseases and other systemic infections like AIDS, hepatitis B or C, Rabies, Tetanus, Malaria cannot donate their eyes.
  • Only corneal blind (blindness caused due to damage in the tissue covering the front of the eye called cornea) people are benefitted from donated eyes.
  • Ideally the cornea should be removed within an hour of death (but can be removed up to a maximum of 6-8 hours of death).
  • Eyes of a donated person can save the vision of two corneal blind people.
  • Eye removal takes only 10-15 minutes and leaves no scar or disfigurement of the face.
  • Donated eyes are never bought or sold. Eye donation is never refused.
  • Contact the eye bank to become a registered eye donor.

How to Pledge For Eye Donation?

  • You have to fill the pledge form and send it to any of the nearest eye banks. 
  • Upon successful registration  as an eye donor you will be provided an Eye Donor Card.
  • You can Dial 1919 (MTNL Toll Free No. for Eye Donation 24 hours) for more information and to know where to donate eyes.
  • You can pledge for eye donation at any age but donation is carried out only after death.

Instructions For The Family/Caregivers to Follow in Case of an Eye Donor’s Death: 

  • Close the eyelids of the donor.
  • Switch off the fan; you can switch on the air -conditioner.
  • Raise the head of the deceased slightly by placing a pillow underneath.
  • Contact the nearest eye bank in 1919 as quickly as possible. 
  • The team will reach the donors residence or the hospital where the death has occurred and perform the corneal excision.

Legal Information: Eye donation can be done only with the written consent of the next of kin in the presence of two witnesses.

Any Motivation is a Good Motivation

Many celebrities have pledged eye donation after their death, including the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, and Priyanka Chopra among many. More recently, after actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s death when it was known that he had willed for eye donation that helped 4 people get their sight restored, Karnataka saw a spur in eye donation pledges. 

The Closing Note - Now is the time to pledge for eye donation, we can always spread some love; by sharing smiles when we live, and by giving our sight when we are gone.